In sports, everyone is a winner—some people just win better than others. Like Texas coach Mack Brown, who is about to get seriously paid. This is what is known as "striking while the iron is hot."

Completely ignoring the principles of buy low and sell high, Texas has decided to double down on Brown's future—to the tune of $5 million a year until 2016—at a time when the price of that future could not possibly be set higher. He's got an undefeated team with another conference championship (they barely managed that, but it doesn't matter to Brown) and the Longhorns have secured a spot in a second national championship game. The man is flying very high at the moment, so it was essential that he nail down this fat new raise before his team gets crushed by Alabama and his All-World senior quarterback graduates. You've got to spend those bargaining chips while they're still worth something.

Brown is now the highest paid college coach in the land, but if the Texas regents had just waited another month or so, they probably could have got a much better bargain. I guess that's why they're running a state school and not an investment bank.